My Story

I am a German-Mexican-American photographer, author and photo instructor. My career started when I was 13 years old and fell in love with photography while working on my junior high yearbook. I grew up in Bellevue, Washington, at a time when blue-collar folks like my German-American father, who worked as a carpenter, and my Mexican-American mother, who worked as a housecleaner, could afford to live there. Since my parents didn’t have money to spare, I worked jobs after school to buy my first camera—a Nikon EM—at age 16 from a local pawnshop.

I started my career as news photographer and always looked for any chance to photograph wildlife. Four years ago that changed and now my main artistic pursuit is finding and documenting “city critters,” the wildlife that lives with us in urban areas, specifically in Seattle.

Besides photographs I have written, designed, and published two zines on this topic, including City Critters: Wildlife Photography In Your Own Backyard and 3 Tips for Better Bird Pics. As well as teaching wildlife photography classes at Woodland Park Zoo. Where I also volunteer for the Seattle Urban Carnivores Project. I’m also a board member of Friends of Discovery Park.

P.S. I’ve also flown the Goodyear Blimp. Yes, really.

That was back in my journalism days where graduated top of my class in Photojournalism from the University of Missouri Journalism School. I went on to work as the Director of Photography of the King County Journal newspaper and as a staff photographer at the Puget Sound Business Journal among others.

 

National Award Winner

 

“I especially appreciated the details of color, lighting, clarity, and composition of pasta maker Martha Francis rolling plin... Donner had to be very patient...in order for him to capture these wonderful photographs, which added significance to the food story.”
     — SDX Awards judges

 

I’ve twice received a national journalism award from the Society of Professional Journalists for feature photography in a non-daily publication. In 2009, I received a Sigma Delta Chi award for a photo feature on Tod Leiweke, CEO of Vulcan Sports & Entertainment, who manages both the Seattle Sounders FC and Seattle Seahawks. In 2012, I received the award again for a feature story of renowned chef and restaurateur, Tom Douglas, and his team. Both stories were shot for the Puget Sound Business Journal.

Plaid Frog Press

I teamed up with with my wife, author Peg Cheng., to create Plaid Frog Press, a Taiwanese-Mexican-German-American-owned publishing company based in Seattle, Washington.

Our company is named after our pal Froggy (who's also our CFO: Chief Frog Officer) and our mottos are READ GOOD STUFF and WRITE GOOD STUFF.

We create our books, zines, cards, and stickers in our home studio in Seattle. We love all the various parts of the publishing process from creating the product, designing it, printing it, and shipping it with the help of great companies like Mixam in Illinois, Sticker Mule in New York, and EcoEnclose in Colorado. All of our stuff is printed in the USA and shipped to you with love in eco-friendly, recyclable materials.

Read my latest books City Critters, Wildlife Photography In Your Own Backyard and Noodle Taco A Taiwanese-Mexican-American Culinary Adventure at Plaid Frog Press.

 

My Favorite Photo

Sometimes the best tool you have in your camera bag is patience.

I waited 20 years to take a single photo on July 25, 2016.

Really, I did.

But this was not just any photo; I was waiting to recreate a photo of my great-grandfather Fred Donner. To do it, I needed at least 15 cantaloupes, a pair of overalls, and a good hat.

Many years back, I was looking through old family photos at my folks’ house and came across a photo of my great-grandfather on his farm packing cantaloupes with a farmhand. My great-grandfather was a melon farmer and farmed up and down California over the years.

I love so many things about this photo. I love the hats my great-grandfather and the farmhand are wearing. I love that it’s a slice of my great grandfather’s work day. Most of all, I love that he’s doing what he loved to do.

And, I know exactly what day the photo was taken. We all have old family photos that we have to guess when they were taken, but for this one photo, I know exactly when it was taken. Painted on the front of the photo is “Irwin, CAL July 25 1916 Packing cantaloupes.” Bingo!

Looking at the photo, I had this idea to shoot a recreation of the photo 100 years apart--with me and my Dad.

There is a lot of craft, composition, lighting, and tools I use to make great photos. But to make this one, I had to use patience--about 20 years worth.

After years of waiting, I finally got the chance to take my recreation photo last summer. It was a hoot and a half, but sadly, I’m the only one wearing overalls. My Dad hates them.

P.S. My great-grandfather Fred Donner hybrided one of the first watermelons that would fit in an icebox.

 

Clients include